Publicity stunt illegal

I refer to the letter headlined, 'Vandalism' (South China Morning Post, October 9), on estate agents paint-spraying their telephone numbers on public property.

Investigations revealed that two estate agents sprayed their numbers onto walls at the side of roads for publicity purposes.

They have been warned against this type of activity and have promised to remove them from the walls within two weeks.

Such activities are classified as criminal damage and all estate agents in Sai Kung district will be warned against such activities for publicity purposes. However, it would be difficult to take action against an estate agent whose phone number had been sprayed unless the spray painter was caught in the act, as it could have been done by a competitor trying to cause trouble to fellow agents. So, we appeal to members of the public to contact the police immediately should they see similar activities take place in the future. The police will take action against such acts of vandalism.

JEAN CHAN Chief Information and Publicity Officer Police Public Relations Branch for Commissioner of Police